An Oscar nominee, an uplifting sports film and Pixars latest animated feature are highlights among new movies on Blu-ray and DVD this week.
Spotlight (Universal, 2015, R for language, featurettes). This true story of the Boston Globes early-2000s investigation of pedophile Catholic priests, which earned a Pulitzer Prize and shed light on what would become a worldwide scandal, is a remarkable film that plays like a police procedural and is loaded with riveting performances. (The R rating is for intermittent profanity and victims verbal descriptions of how priests molested them as children.)
Liev Schreiber plays the Globes new editor and John Slattery is a managing editor, giving direction to the investigative Spotlight team three reporters (Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Brian dArcy James) and their editor (Michael Keaton) as they dig up information and interview victims.
The entire ensemble cast is terrific, although standouts include Ruffalo as the aggressive, cynical member of the team; McAdams, as a reporter whose faith is tested by their investigation; and Stanley Tucci, as an eccentric but passionate champion for the victims. Nominated for six Oscars, including best picture, and best supporting actress and actor (McAdams and Ruffalo).
My All-American (Universal, 2015, PG, featurettes). Another true story, this sentimental but engaging film is about college football player Freddie Steinmark (Finn Wittrock), a small, unlikely choice to play safety, but who nonetheless led the Texas Longhorns to a 1969 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks in what was described as the game of the century. Two days later, Steinmark was diagnosed with a malignant bone tumor above his left knee. Aaron Eckhart is coach Darryl Royal. This film marks the directing debut of Angelo Pizzo, the screenwriter of Hoosiers and Rudy.
The Good Dinosaur (Disney/Pixar, 2015, PG, deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurettes, cartoon short: Sanjays Super Team). The second Pixar film of 2015 (after Inside Out) is enjoyable but nothing new although even Pixar-lite is better than most other animated features. The what if? premise suggests dinosaurs never became extinct but lived on and communed with humans, focusing on a timid young apatosaurus relationship with a cave boy. Voice performers include Sam Elliott, Anna Paquin, Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand and Steve Zahn.
A Mighty Wind (Warner Archive, 2003, PG-13, deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurettes, trailer). One of writer-director Christopher Guests most appealing off-kilter mock documentaries is this gentle spoof of the folk-music scene, as aging singers reunite with their original bands at a memorial concert for their late producer. Guest and his ensemble stock company are present and accounted for: Catherine OHara, Michel McKean, Harry Shearer, Fred Willard, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley Jr., Jennifer Coolidge and Eugene Levy (who also co-wrote the screenplay). Jane Lynch and Parker Posey co-star. (Available at warnerarchive.com)
Becoming Bulletproof (Virgil, 2016, not rated). A touching, amusing documentary about a group of courageous disabled actors who participate in a Western movie titled Bulletproof, filmed in full costumes on location as part of a program at Zeno Mountain Farm in Vermont.
Secret in Their Eyes (Universal, 2015, PG-13, audio commentary, featurettes). A Los Angeles district attorneys investigator (Julia Roberts) answers a call about a body in a dumpster and it turns out to be her own daughter. Dramatically inert remake of a 2005 Argentine thriller is confusing as it jumps back and forth in time, with underdeveloped characters and an unsatisfying twist ending. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Nicole Kidman co-star.
Extraction (Lionsgate, 2015, R for violence, language, sex, nudity; deleted/extended scenes, audio commentary, featurettes). After a CIA operative (Bruce Willis) is kidnapped, his son (Kellan Lutz) plots an unsanctioned rescue operation. Another clich-ridden straight-to-video action picture designed to cash in on Willis marquee value.
Entertainment (Magnolia, 2015; R for language, a disturbing image, drugs). A down-and-out comedian (Gregg Turkington) hits the stand-up circuit in the Mojave Desert, and along the way meets up with unlikely acquaintances he quickly alienates in this tragedy-farce. Co-stars include John C. Reilly and Michael Cera.
I Smile Back (Broadgreen, 2016; R for sex, drugs, language, nudity; featurette). This vanity vehicle for Sarah Silverman has her playing a depressed, drug-addled, promiscuous wife and mother whose downward spiral is revealed though flashbacks. Josh Charles co-stars.
The Girl in the Book (Monarch, 2015, not rated). A junior book editor (Emily VanCamp) at a New York publishing house is assigned the relaunch of a popular 15-year-old novel, which no one else knows is about her. Flashbacks reveal that when she was a young teen, the middle-aged author (Michael Nyqvist) seduced her and incorporated the events into his book. (With R-rated language.)
Spotlight (Universal, 2015, R for language, featurettes). This true story of the Boston Globes early-2000s investigation of pedophile Catholic priests, which earned a Pulitzer Prize and shed light on what would become a worldwide scandal, is a remarkable film that plays like a police procedural and is loaded with riveting performances. (The R rating is for intermittent profanity and victims verbal descriptions of how priests molested them as children.)
Liev Schreiber plays the Globes new editor and John Slattery is a managing editor, giving direction to the investigative Spotlight team three reporters (Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Brian dArcy James) and their editor (Michael Keaton) as they dig up information and interview victims.
The entire ensemble cast is terrific, although standouts include Ruffalo as the aggressive, cynical member of the team; McAdams, as a reporter whose faith is tested by their investigation; and Stanley Tucci, as an eccentric but passionate champion for the victims. Nominated for six Oscars, including best picture, and best supporting actress and actor (McAdams and Ruffalo).
My All-American (Universal, 2015, PG, featurettes). Another true story, this sentimental but engaging film is about college football player Freddie Steinmark (Finn Wittrock), a small, unlikely choice to play safety, but who nonetheless led the Texas Longhorns to a 1969 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks in what was described as the game of the century. Two days later, Steinmark was diagnosed with a malignant bone tumor above his left knee. Aaron Eckhart is coach Darryl Royal. This film marks the directing debut of Angelo Pizzo, the screenwriter of Hoosiers and Rudy.
The Good Dinosaur (Disney/Pixar, 2015, PG, deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurettes, cartoon short: Sanjays Super Team). The second Pixar film of 2015 (after Inside Out) is enjoyable but nothing new although even Pixar-lite is better than most other animated features. The what if? premise suggests dinosaurs never became extinct but lived on and communed with humans, focusing on a timid young apatosaurus relationship with a cave boy. Voice performers include Sam Elliott, Anna Paquin, Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand and Steve Zahn.
A Mighty Wind (Warner Archive, 2003, PG-13, deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurettes, trailer). One of writer-director Christopher Guests most appealing off-kilter mock documentaries is this gentle spoof of the folk-music scene, as aging singers reunite with their original bands at a memorial concert for their late producer. Guest and his ensemble stock company are present and accounted for: Catherine OHara, Michel McKean, Harry Shearer, Fred Willard, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley Jr., Jennifer Coolidge and Eugene Levy (who also co-wrote the screenplay). Jane Lynch and Parker Posey co-star. (Available at warnerarchive.com)
Becoming Bulletproof (Virgil, 2016, not rated). A touching, amusing documentary about a group of courageous disabled actors who participate in a Western movie titled Bulletproof, filmed in full costumes on location as part of a program at Zeno Mountain Farm in Vermont.
Secret in Their Eyes (Universal, 2015, PG-13, audio commentary, featurettes). A Los Angeles district attorneys investigator (Julia Roberts) answers a call about a body in a dumpster and it turns out to be her own daughter. Dramatically inert remake of a 2005 Argentine thriller is confusing as it jumps back and forth in time, with underdeveloped characters and an unsatisfying twist ending. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Nicole Kidman co-star.
Extraction (Lionsgate, 2015, R for violence, language, sex, nudity; deleted/extended scenes, audio commentary, featurettes). After a CIA operative (Bruce Willis) is kidnapped, his son (Kellan Lutz) plots an unsanctioned rescue operation. Another clich-ridden straight-to-video action picture designed to cash in on Willis marquee value.
Entertainment (Magnolia, 2015; R for language, a disturbing image, drugs). A down-and-out comedian (Gregg Turkington) hits the stand-up circuit in the Mojave Desert, and along the way meets up with unlikely acquaintances he quickly alienates in this tragedy-farce. Co-stars include John C. Reilly and Michael Cera.
I Smile Back (Broadgreen, 2016; R for sex, drugs, language, nudity; featurette). This vanity vehicle for Sarah Silverman has her playing a depressed, drug-addled, promiscuous wife and mother whose downward spiral is revealed though flashbacks. Josh Charles co-stars.
The Girl in the Book (Monarch, 2015, not rated). A junior book editor (Emily VanCamp) at a New York publishing house is assigned the relaunch of a popular 15-year-old novel, which no one else knows is about her. Flashbacks reveal that when she was a young teen, the middle-aged author (Michael Nyqvist) seduced her and incorporated the events into his book. (With R-rated language.)
